Do you know what Shabu-shabu is? Shabu-shabu is a Japanese hotpot dish typically made with thinly sliced meat and vegetables cooked in boiling water. The word is also used to describe a mixing movement when cooking meat in broth.
Left: Shopfront, sign ” YASAIYA ” translates to “Vegetable Shop”. Right: Shop sign, Kanji translates to “Signature dish”.
Yasaiya Mei, which translates to “Vegetable Shop”, specialises in vegetable meals and fermented foods, making it a super healthy restaurant.
One of their signature dishes is Vegetable Shabu-shabu, as you can see from the sign shopfront.
You might be wondering how vegan Shabu-shabu is possible. Well, they simply use vegan broth and fresh veggies for the Shabu-shabu.
The great thing is that this place sources its fresh veggies directly from farmers.
Right : Display of the freshly sourced veggies. Left: You can even see pictures of the farmers!
Entrée – three types of veggie dishes
For the entrée, we had potato salad, Koya tofu (frozen, dried) nimono, and Spinach gomaae.
Once the entrée is finished, the big bowl is filled with vegetables. I bet there were around 20 types of veggies in the bowl – from typical hot pot Japanese greens such as Syungiku (chrysanthemum), Komatsuna (similar to choy sum), and Mizuna, to various Japanese mushrooms like shimeji and maitake. It even contained other unusual vegetables for hot pot, like lettuce! I was so surprised. Isn’t it fabulous to be able to eat so many types of veggies in one meal? It’s so healthy!
Left: Vegan Vegetable Shabu Shabu. Right: Non-vegan Vegetable Shabu Shabu.
For the broth, there are five options available. I chose “Shojin,” which is vegan. My vegan broth contained dried shiitake, dried daikon, roasted soybeans, konbu (kelp, the seaweed), and umeboshi. I was worried the broth might be bland, but it was full of flavour.
The Japanese plum, umeboshi, looks great!
My hubby chose the “black” broth, a Japanese soy-based broth. Alternatively, you can choose the “white” broth, a salt-based broth with roasted soybeans, umeboshi, and chili. There’s also the “red” broth, which is tuna-based and dashi-rich with a deep umami flavour. You can choose “Yakuzen” broth if you’re into medicinal soup, it contains 18 species of herbs.
Another fabulous thing about this restaurant is that you can customise your flavours to your preference. My hubby isn’t vegan, so he ordered a non-vegan option for himself with meat, while I got the vegan option.
left: Zosui Set comes after eating Shabu Shabu Right : vegan zosui – I made my own vegan zousui by simply not using egg – still tastes great!
After finishing the meal, it was time for “Zousui,” a type of rice soup, made by putting some rice inside your Shabu-shabu broth. There are options for Zousui, including just rice or kishimen (Japanese flat noodles). We chose the rice.
The Zousui set includes Mugi gohan (rice with barley), daikon pickles, shredded nori, and an egg per person. I gave my egg to my husband, who loves eggs, so he was doubly happy with his egg-filled Zousui. The staff prepared the Zousui in front of us, and it was delicious.
When I visited, they offered a vegan Shabu-shabu option as part of a set course priced at 2990 yen. This set includes an entrée and a final “Shime”, such as rice- Zousui, or flat noodles put in the soup. However, currently, you can still choose the Shojin (vegan) broth, but the set comes with meat. You can always request to substitute the meat with extra veggies, and they’ll likely accommodate.
Alternatively, I think the best choice is to go for the Shabu-shabu only set, priced at 1990 yen. This set includes vegetable Shabu-shabu with the option to choose the Shojin (vegan) broth. It also comes with Zousui, and if you prefer, you can ask to exclude the egg. Plus, if you want to add extra veggies, they can arrange that for you!
You can refer to the menu in the below link–
https://yasaiya-mei.com/1660/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/02/3237c3ef8b5d021ca1afc5d73eb7d0ae.pdf
If you’re in Japan, I highly recommend visiting to experience the power of vegetables! Especially during trips when vegetable consumption tends to be lacking, this restaurant guarantees beautiful fresh veggies, and it’s a nice way to enjoy Shabu Shabu.
Each restaurant has a different menu, and they also offer lunch menus at more reasonable prices. Some restaurants may not offer Shabu-shabu, so please check in advance.
Unfortunately, all menus are in Japanese, but I found that Tokyo is easier to communicate in English. So, fingers crossed you’ll get to enjoy what you want to eat!
Here is the menu for the Yasaiya Mei in Gotanda:
Note for lunch, there is no vegan menu.
I went to Yasaiya Mei in Gotanda, Tokyo, but there are more restaurants in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi and Osaka. Look at the list below for their addresses.
Restaurant list in Japan
Tokyo
Yasaiya mei, Gotanda
8F, Gotanda Tokyu Square, 2-1-2 Higashi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku,Tokyo
Yasaiya-Mei, Omotesando hills
3F, Omotesando Hills main bldg., 4- 12-10, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Kanagawa
Yasaiya-Mei, Yokohama
7F, Lumine Yokohama, 2-16-1 Takashima, Nishi-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa
Yasaiya-Mei, Lazona Kawasaki Plaza
4F, Lazona Kawasaki Plaza, 72-1 Horikawa-cho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa
Aichi
Yasaiya-Mei, Nagoya
13FJR Gate Tower, 1-1-3 Meieki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi
Osaka
Yasaiya-Mei, Namba Parks
6F, Namba-Parks, 2-10-70 Namba-naka, Naniwa-ku, Osaka city, Osaka
Refer to the link below for more details:
WATCH MY VISIT TO YASAIYA MEI ON INSTAGRAM:
Click HERE or on the image below to catch my video on my visit!
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